


Never Lost

by mzblackpoison



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-11
Updated: 2015-11-03
Packaged: 2018-04-25 21:53:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4977874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mzblackpoison/pseuds/mzblackpoison
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Marinette is getting fed up with Chat Noir’s flirtatious advances, but a rough time fighting a persistent akuma and his dedication to finding a lost ring, she thinks she can deal with the playful cat.</p><p>Adrien not only gets to redeem himself, and Marinette not only gets her ring back.<br/>They're in for a ride; it's not just about a ring anymore.</p><p>[DISCONTINUED]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to my friend for this prompt! I hit a major writer's block but was really craving some light AdriNette action, so this came to light with the help of my friend!

Marinette sighed and rolled her eyes; they were patrolling around the area when an akuma attacked, she had lost her ring during the scuffle, and Chat Noir continued with his usual banter, flirting and pushing her buttons. She could hear his light alternating steps follow her own; she could tell he wanted to say something but was hesitating. The entire night he was toeing the line, borderline pushing her over and telling him off; today wasn’t the day.

“What? Just say it already,” she hissed spinning around to Chat Noir, his steps faltered and he paused watching her.

“My lady, you’ve been upset all day,” he stated carefully, one wrong word and he was done for.

“What do you know,” and she turned around, walking again. She lost her ring, of course she was upset’, it was special to her.

If only he would take things seriously, Ladybug thought grumbling, if only he did things seriously then I wouldn’t have lost my ring.

“What’s the matter? You can tell me.”

“What can I tell you?” She asked glaring at him, “That you only ever fool around, never taking anything seriously? That if you stopped playing, then maybe, just maybe I wouldn’t have lost my ring and neither of us would be injured!”

Marinette was seething with anger, the damn cat couldn’t do anything. Chat Noir teetered on his feet, tipping off his toes. He glance aside nervously, she was right, he had been fooling around, and that caused them to get injured, and Ladybug lost her ring because of him. He felt his heart clench, god, he felt so guilty.

Ladybug stared at him with hard eyes, his leathery cat ears sagged, drooping downwards. She clenched her jaw, she could tell he was guilty, but it didn’t changed the fact that he dawdled. She turned around and left, this time Chat Noir didn't follow her.

She jumped onto a building and began running, she was going to retrace her steps back to where the akuma first appeared. Retracing her steps was her only chance of find her lost ring. Landing of a building near the site of which the villain appeared, Marinette jumped down onto the road. She glanced around the perimetre, it was nighttime and dark and she could barely see past a metre and half away from her feet. It was going to be a long night, whether she found her ring or not.

\-----

**  
**  


Adrien sighed, shoulders slumped, he hadn’t noticed that Ladybug lost her ring until she said so, he only realized she was in a bad mood, because of him. He jumped away climbing the building next to him, he was going to search for the ring. He was the source of the problem after all, so he was going to resolve. Landing awkwardly in a crouch position supported by his hands, he glanced around the road. It was dark out and his night vision had already kicked in, it was really going to help him find Ladybug’s ring.

He walked around aimlessly watching the ground intently searching for the ring. He didn’t even know what it looked like, he didn’t even know she wore a ring tonight. He snarled loudly, mentally berating himself for being so incompetent, he was Ladybug’s sidekick for god’s sake! He was supposed to assist her, not cause her more problem. And yet there he was taking things too far, playing around too much, getting them injured, and losing her ring.

Although he had been looking at the ground the entire time, looking for the ring, he didn’t notice the pothole in front of him. His foot caught on the edge of the asphalt when he stepped out. He lurched forward, hands springing out to catch himself as he fell.

Adrien hissed, scrunching his nose he wiped off the small rocks that were lodged in his leather clad hands, as if he wasn’t injured enough. He continued on his way.

**  
**  


\-----

**  
**  


Marinette sighed as a fourth dot on her earring disappeared, she was losing time and power. She didn’t make any progress either, walking up and down streets without any luck. Swinging her yoyo onto a jutting piece of metal on a building, she swung herself up and jogged across the roof. With no progress and no power, she made her way home. She would search again tomorrow, right now she needed to get home safely without getting caught and treat her injured elbow.

She hid behind an advertisement pillar and released her transformation, Tikki flew out from her earring and landing into her awaiting hands, as usual. Entering the front door of her parent’s patisserie, she locked the door behind her and made her way two floors up to her room passing through the living room. She was glad her parents were busy in the back kitchen working on getting out fresh pastries, she didn’t want to deal with their fretting right now. She just wanted to clean her wound,  and sleep. Screw homework.

Tossing her purse aside, she pulled of her outer flannel to examine her wound. Ooh, that was pretty bad, worse than what she had expected. Marinette grabbed the first aid kit she kept in her room and placed it on the ground; she would feed Tikki after.

She washed her elbow clean and applied rubbing alcohol, as well as hydrogen peroxide. She sucked in a breath as it stung.

That’s what you get for not putting a certain cat in line, she thought bitterly. She applied a patch of gauze over the large scratch and taped it in place, that would do.

She grabbed two cookies and a chocolate croissant from the bakery and gave them to Tikki, who accepted them graciously. The little Kwami was utterly exhausted, and so was she. She changed her clothes in a sluggish manner, and climbed into her bed. Just she was about to fall asleep, Tikki crawled onto her stomach, Marinette gave a sleepy smile and was soon dozing off.

**  
**  
  


Rousing to the sound of her alarm, Marinette discovered she was tangled in her comforter and blankets. She gasped and sat up, looking frantically for Tikki, she wouldn’t have squished her right? She pulled up the covers looking for the Kwami until she spotted Tikki sleeping behind her pillow, safe and sound.

She picked out an outfit and packed her bag, she would let Tikki sleep a little longer considering the previous night’s events. She quickly ate breakfast and slipped Tikki into her purse, then into her bag. Running past her mother, she dashed out the door and booked it to school. She didn’t want to be late three days in a row.

As Marinette approached school grounds, she saw Alya waiting by the stairs staring intently at her phone screen. She stuffed her phone away upon noticing Marinette and together they headed to class. Which was horrible by the way. Not only did Marinette do the wrong homework, she got detention for after school, bombed a quiz, and Adrien wasn’t there. Staring at her love interest was her only hope after last night’s tragic events; she had to lie to Alya about her injured elbow too.

Marinette grumbled as the watched her classmates leave for the day, Alya patted her back reassuringly but was quick to leave like everyone else. As punishment, Marinette did twice the amount of work assigned before leaving.

She dumped her things at home and quickly transformed, she needed to find her ring! She spent the entire evening searching for her ring, but still had no luck. She didn’t find Chat Noir either, he wasn’t at their usual meeting spot for patrol, but she wasn’t surprised, not after she lashed out at him.

She returned home unwillingly, she just wanted her ring!

**  
**  


\-----

**  
**  


Chat Noir yawned and stretched, he finally found the blasted ring! At least he hoped it was Ladybug’s ring. How many people could lose their rings in one day, right? It had to be her’s. It was nightfall once again, and he was exhausted, his muscles ached, his shoulders were tense, and he had skipped school. He transformed back into his normal form in an alleyway and trudged slowly back home. He was totally in for it, his father would talk his ears off the moment he set foot into his house. Pulling his phone from his pocket he checked the time, perhaps not actually, it was just past midnight, so his father should be asleep.

He adjusted his grip of Plagg and entered the gates of his property, he slipped through the doors and ascended the large staircase, then stumbled to his room. Adrien placed Plagg on his pillow and proceeded to take a quick shower, looking in the mirror, he looked at the day old scratches. They were all pretty light, but he wasn’t covered in them.

Changing into his pajamas he dived into bed, his momentum made Plagg bounce of his pillow and he gave a slight smile, too tired to laugh.

Tomorrow, he would give Ladybug her ring.

**  
**  


\-----

**  
**  


Marinette swung her legs over the ledge of the building top, she watched cars drive by and listened to the sounds of the city. Behind her she heard Chat Noir land and she turned around. He walked over slowly, his feet padding lightly against the roof until he reached her. Neither said anything for a moment before Chat Noir lifted his arm holding out his fist.

“Here,” he stated simply, and nodded to his hand when Ladybug didn’t do anything, she held out her hand nervously. He dropped the thin metal band into her hand.

Ladybug gasped, her ring! Fumbling with it in her hand for a moment she looked up at him. Chat Noir scratched the back of his neck nervously looking away. She smiled brightly and flung herself at him laughing loudly. His eyes widened as he stumbled back to stabilize them, hands shooting out to hold her waist as she hugged him and laughed.

God, he was blushing madly. His Lady was hugging him!

“You stupid cat,” Ladybug muttered quietly, “You stupid, foolish, cat!”

“I’m sorry,” he apologized guiltily, Marinette pulled back just in time to see his cat ears droop.

Ladybug giggled and ruffled his hair, pushing his ears back. Chat Noir ducked slightly and shook his hair back into place, when he looked up Ladybug was already down the street jumping and twirling away, while laughing loudly. He smiled and followed suit, jumping from building to building.

Adrien couldn’t help but smile gleefully. He laughed loudly and followed her lead, a habit he developed over the course of fighting multiple akuma and villains. He found himself standing on top a tall corporate building, Ladybug was already sitting, swinging her legs like always. He settled down beside watching the cars below travel around.

Chat Noir smiled contently, everything was just fine.

**  
**  


\-----

**  
**  


Marinette jumped onto her bed falling back, she raised her hand to look at her ring. She was glad to have it back, it was her favourite ring. Dropping her arm she stared at her room ceiling, perhaps she could deal with the playful a little longer, he could do some things well.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Adrien notices Marinette's ring, it's more than just a ring now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically they reveal their identities bc Adrien recognizes Marinette's ring.

Adrien groaned, he hated studying but he loved school. But there he was studying with his friends in one of the lecture halls. It was only geography, so why did they need to know so many details about literally everything, why was it such a big test? He glanced at Nino, he was actively listening to Marinette explain something about rocks and soil. Wait, what? He sat up abruptly listening to his friends converse, he didn't know about this.

"Is that going to be on the test?" He asked pointing to Nino's chart.

"Yeah, it was the first thing we learned from this unit," Nino explained, Adrien gaped. "you weren't here that day."

Of course he wasn't.

"Don't worry, bud!" Alya exclaimed eyes glued on her phone, "It's just simple memorizing, you'll get it in no time."

"The test is tomorrow, how am I supposed to memorize all those?" He complained pointing at Nino's chart, just from a glance he could tell it was double sided.

"Marinette can teach you! She taught me a song to memorize the names," and she proceeded to sing the song, Nino chiming in quickly.

"I didn't understand a word," he scowled.

"Here copy this first," Nino handed him the chart. God, there was so much to memorize. Why were they learning about rocks and soil, it was geography class!

"Just try to memorize it, if not then I can help you," Marinette told him. That was the first thing ever she said to him without stuttering. She always stuttered, looked away, and seemed to cower away in general. Adrien wondered, was he really that intimidating? He he scare her that much?

"Thanks!" Marinette blushed, he smiled at her!

"You need to be more like Marinette, man! She wasn't there either and yet she's got it all down," Ayla slapped his back placing her phone down.

"How did you get the work?" He asked Marinette ignoring Alya, that slap hurt.

"I asked our teacher for them the next day."

Duh, of course she did and you didn't.

"Marinette is great at this stuff! You should see all her notes, it's all colour coded and neatly organized," Alya commented pulling Marinette's binder over to show him. Marinette gave a weak protest, but it was too late, he was already flipping through her notes.

Adrien gaped, it was so organized! Everything had its own colour, some were written, others underlined or highlighted. Damn, he thought, all his notes were just written in plain pencil. He copied the info down onto his own notebook noting the cute little doodles of rocks and insects. He snickered quietly, he found it amusing.

Sedimentary rock are types of rock that are formed by the deposition of material at the earth’s surface and in bodies of water….

He groaned and bashed his head on the table, he did not want to do this.

“Adrien, hurry up and copy it! You need to know this for tomorrow!” Marinette scowled.

“Ugh, but it’s so boring, we’ll never need this!” He argued lifting his head, and pouted. Marinette blushed and looked away.

“Well, uh, you still want to get a good grade, d-don’t you?”

“Yeah I guess,” Adrien replied sulking.

“I’m going back now, gotta to properly blog!” Alya bellowed, messily stuffing her things into her bag.

“I’ll go too, let’s walk together,” Nino suggested, backing his bag.

“See ya tomorrow! Good luck, Marinette!” Alya exclaimed giving a thumbs up to her friend before leaving and shutting the door. Marinette blushed, she needed all the luck she could get.

“Good luck about what?” Adrien asked, one eyebrow raised curiously.

“It’s nothing!” Marinette hastily replied, “Let’s start!”

Adrien nodded, Marinette took back her notebook flipping through a few pages before giving it to him to look at it. It was a full page sheet of the same info about rocks and soil, but now on a brainstorm like image, colour coded with pictures and doodles and comments relating them all together.

“You made this?” He asked looking between Marinette and the page, she nodded shyly, “It’s amazing! It’s so well put together!”

“Uhm thanks, I guess. It’s nothing really,” she muttered humbly; her love interest was complimenting her!

“It’s definitely something! It’s so good!”

“Ahaha, why don’t you try to memorize it first, then we can talk about how it involves the other types of soil.”

“There’s more!?”

“Yeah, these are just the first few, the basics.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me, curse my bad luck,” he grumbled.

“Don’t worry, I can help you, you copy that, and I’ll copy the next sheet for you, it has less too because it was a hand out,” she replied taking out her binder.

Adrien quickly go to work, copying the rest of the chart down. He copied some of Marinette’s own little bits of information for clarification, who knew rocks were so confusing. In the corner of his eye, a bright flash caught his eye, he looked to the side. It was Marinette’s ring, it was a thin silver band in the middle was a small jewel, about 5mm in diametre. The jewel was an interesting colour, mainly because it wasn’t one colour. It was mainly white, with hints of pink, blue, and green all around it. Depending on how the light hit it, it seemed to change colours. Adrien stared at the ring in wonder, it was beautiful, yet somehow he felt like he’s seen it before. Either way, he was astound by it’s beauty.

“Come on, Mister Bad Luck, get to work, I’m spending my time here too,” Marinette said, lightly scolding him.

“Please, you enjoy me here,” Adrien bragged, turning back to his work and missing Marinette’s blush.

She did enjoy his company, especially since she wasn’t embarrassing herself right now. She mentally gave herself props for not doing anything stupid, not stumbling over her words, or making weird noises. She smiled giddily, for once she wasn’t awkward in front of Adrien!

Adrien glanced back at Marinette's ring, it was really bothering him now because if felt so familiar yet he couldn’t remember why. He stared at the ring intently, where had he seen it before? His eyes bored into Marinette's ring. Adrien’s eyes widened as he silently gasped.

No way.

It couldn’t be. He stared harder, no way, it was the same ring. The same ring he found for Ladybug. Why did Marinette have it? Unless she…. He shook his head, it wasn't possible, it just couldn’t be! Ladybug was brilliant, beautiful, confident, and intelligent. Marinette was a nervous mess, ditzy, always stuttering, and quirky. They were so different, there was no way.

But how else would Marinette have Ladybug’s ring?

Adrien thought harder, thinking of any other explanation. Ladybug was confident but Marinette was shy. Ladybug was bold and fearless but Marinette was easily spooked and much too humble. It didn’t add up, it just didn’t make sense, he thought. Marinette was good at fashion design, drawing, and crafts. Ladybug was creative in her plans and executing them. Ladybug was ambitious but Marinette was more energetic and competitive.

Maybe they did have a few similarities, but that would apply to everyone. Marinette had light blue eyes and dark blue hair, and bright smile that could light up the world. Like Ladybug, she too had a great big smile that made his heart flutter. The more Adrien thought about it the more it seemed likely. He was beginning to see the similarities, but he still had his doubts.

“What do you think about Ladybug?” He asked experimentally.

“What do you mean?” Came a reply, Marinette mind drew a blank, what now? Did he know who she was? Act natural! Why would he bring up Ladybug?

“Well I mean, she’s really cool right? She protects us all from evil, she’s always there so we know we can rely on her, right?”

“Hmm, that’s true,” she answered nervously.

“Chat Noir too,” he added casually, watching Marinette, “He’s always there too!”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Marinette agreed nodding her head. Chat Noir was always there to distract the villains so she could execute her plan to capture the akuma. He was reliable.

Adrien frowned, she wasn’t showing any signs to know anything specific or being Ladybug. He needed to change tactics, he was just going to ask her. But later, he needed to memorize the test content first.

Adrien copied the chart, while Marinette copied the hand out for him. She even taught him her little song for memorizing everything. It was nearly two hours later when Adrien felt confident in knowing everything he missed. He could tell that Marinette was going to leave soon. Neither of them were paying much attention to studying, so it made sense to just go home. He needed to ask her now.

“Uh, Ladybug?”

“Hmm?”

What.

There was a moment of silence, where neither of the moved. Slowly, Marinette raised her head to look at Adrien, her eyes wide just like his. He was definitely not expecting her to just reply casually.

“Oh ahahaha…. I meant uhm, what about her?” Marinette improvised anxiously.

“You are Ladybug, right?” He asked, he didn’t buy her act at all. He was sure now.

“What are you talking about?” She waved her hand nervously in front of her, as if you brush him off. Adrien saw the glint of her ring, it had to be her. He grabbed her hand, examining the ring.

“Your ring, Ladybug wore it a few days ago,” Adrien answered, looking at her.

“How do you know that?” Marinette asked, no else should know but Chat Noir.

Adrien waited, he was right, right?

“Chat?” Marinette asked quietly, as if hoping he wasn’t. Adrien smiled meekly, so it was her. Marinette’s jaw dropped, no way! And then suddenly she was laughing, draped over the table and snorting away. Adrien soon began to laugh, entranced by the same laugh he only got to hear during night patrol on a good day. They were laughing uncontrollably, it was so surreal. As the minute passed, their laughing simmered into little giggles and hiccups of amusement.

Marinette wiped her eyes, she was crying tears of laughter, “Are you serious?”

“Yeah, it’s me, Chat Noir,” Adrien replied smiling widely.

“I can’t believe it, we’ve known each other this whole time!”

“It must be fate, My Lady is the clumsy girl in my class that likes me,” Marinette gasped, jaw dropping again.

“You knew?!” She shrieked, throwing her pencil at him, “I can’t believe it!”

Adrien laughed as Marinette buried her face in her arms, she felt humiliated. He picked up her pencil and placed it on her notebook; she looked up and half glared at him.

“Who knew the over confident vain kitty cat was the lonely rich boy in my class,” she countered giving a fake sneer at him. Adrien faked a gasp of horror, and they shared another laugh.

**  
  
**

“I can’t believe you knew…” Marinette mumbled still embarrassed.

“Don’t worry, My Lady, it’s no worry,” Adrien responded using his flirtatious Chat Noir voice and smirked.

“Argh, don’t use my Adrien’s face with that voice, you fiend!”

“Oh, your Adrien, I’m yours now? Is that how it is?” He teased.

“Oh my god, shut you, you’re killing me you stupid cat!” Adrien only laughed, Marinette was full blown bright red in the face and ears. She really was Ladybug, it seemed unimaginable but here they were joking around about their dual lives.

“I can’t believe it, you were here with me the entire time,” Adrien said staring at her.

“And I can’t believe you are that cat. It doesn’t make sense, how could this be!”

“How rude, My Lady! There is nothing wrong with my hero side.”

“Yeah, expect you flirt all the time,” she argued.

“Hmm, I’m sure you’d rather I flirt with this face though, wouldn’t you?” He smirked leaning closer to her face, Marinette blushed again and Adrien laughed.

She’s so cute.

“Would you stop! It’s weird seeing you act so outgoing and open, it’s so different.”

“My Lady, would you like to go for ice cream?’ He asked, he really hoped she would accept.

“Whoa there, Kitty Cat, I just found out you’re the love of my life, trying to take advantage of me already?”

“Of course not! I actually really like you too!” He nearly shouted. Marinette stared blank faced, Adrien could see the gears in her head slowly turn before they clicked into place.

What? He liked her too?

It was just getting more and more crazy, but also a lot more amusing. Marinette began to pack her bag, she couldn’t believe her ears. Adrien watched her crestfallen, did you reject him? Marinette stopped for a moment staring at the table.

“Alright, let’s go,” she replied smiling, Adrien beamed brightly.

“Really? You’ll go on a date with me?!”

“Yeah, but you’re paying, I spent all my money buying yarn,” she teased.

“You wouldn’t…” Adrien choked.

“Oh, you bet I did,” Marinette snickered and ran out the door. Adrien quickly packed his bag, throwing it over his shoulders and running out the door, not bothering to shut it properly. He chased after Marinette, she ran quickly down the halls and out the building. Adrien laughed loudly, it was all too funny. Just a few hours ago he was wishing it be night time so he could spend his time patrolling the city with Ladybug. Now he was going on a date with Ladybug, and she liked him back, it was Marinette.

If only everyday could be so easy-going and fun.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [find me on Twitter and Tumblr @mzblackpoison]  
> send me requests and prompts to my ask box on tumblr


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Adrien disclose their relationship to Alya and Nino. Marinette is mortified by her friends, but Adrien is amused.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Notes: about a month later, now they’ve officially started dating; help im dying of feels.

Marinette groaned, today was the day they were going to tell their friends about their relationship, and she wasn’t looking forward to it. She knew exactly how Alya would react, she would gape shocked for a moment while staring, then she proceed freak out and scream a multitude of congratulations at them, and probably hit her back a few times. Marinette couldn’t wait to see her friend’s shock! She understood that Alya would be happy for her, but she wasn’t looking forward to the slaps. The two of them planned all week on how they were going to tell their best friends, it took multiple plans over two hours before they came to an agreement. They were all going to eat out together during lunch, at a pizza restaurant, and then they would tell their friends. And hopefully, it would all go well, and then they would make their way back to school afterwards.

I hope it goes well.

An abrupt coughing snapped her out of her thoughts, she flinched and looked up, it was her history teacher standing in front of her; uh oh. She smiled timidly.

“Care to join us back in class, mademoiselle?” Mme. Bustier asked, raising her eyebrows unimpressed, it was happening quite often lately.

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Marinette apologized sitting up straight. Alya and Adrien both gave her concerned looks, she waved them off easily. She just wanted class to finish already, she wanted to get on it already, she absolutely needed to get it out of her system  now .

The bell rang signalling class was over and Marinette shot up from her seat throwing everything into her bag, she couldn’t wait!

“What’s with you today, girl? You’ve been so out of it,” Alya commented pulling her bag on.

“It’s nothing, I’m just starving, didn’t get to eat much this morning,” Marinette lied easily.

“Then let’s go!” Nino said walking out their classroom, the rest followed eagerly, lunch was the biggest most important meal of the day after all.

**  
  
  
**

Adrien grinned, today was the day for the big reveal! He smiled as he listened to his friends chat about class, complaining about how much they hated class and homework, and laugh at stupid jokes involving the work they just learned. He laughed at Marinette’s exasperated look as Nino and Alya teased for being late and getting in trouble with Mme. Bustier, their teacher was getting fed up with Marinette disrupting the class or, in this case, not pay attention at all.

It was only a short walk before they were at the pizza restaurant, it was a small mom and pop family store. Adrien and Marinette have been their before for a date, and they absolutely loved the food. He knew marinette loved the chubby fries and garlic chicken wings. Together they entered through the class door and took a seat at an empty table in the corner; already the restaurant was filled with hungry customers all craving a delicious slice of pizza, or three in Marinette’s case.

Marinette slipped into the corner seat and Adrien followed quickly sitting beside her and glanced at her, missing Alya’s suggestive look to Marinette, who blushed. Alya and Nino sat together flipping through the menus, discussing what they should order.

“Why aren’t you looking at the menu?” Alya asked.

“Oh, uh…. I’ve been here a few times so I know what I want,” Marinette replied.

“And you?” Alya turned to Adrien.

“I’ve been here once before, so I know what to get too,” he replied.

“Then what do you recommend?” Nino asked laying down the menu.

“All their pizza is really good, they also have amazing smoothies! The strawberry is my favourite!” Marinette exclaimed pointing to a picture.

“I like the garlic bread, it’s really good,” Adrien said.

“Hmm, maybe I should get one then,” Nino considered.

“Definitely, each order comes with three slices,” Adrien added quickly, he didn’t want Nino to order too much and end up not being able to finish it all.

“I’m gonna get a veggie pizza slice,” Alya concluded, “And a blueberry pomegranate smoothie, that sounds amazing.”

“Man, now I want one too,” Nino muttered looking at the different smoothie flavours.

“You should! I’m getting one too, this time I want a mango pineapple one,” Marinette exclaimed.

Adrien smiled, Marinette always got excited over food, it was adorable. 

“Hmm?? What’s are rich boy smiling about?” Alya asked leaning forward curiously.

“Oh uh…. Just excited to eat!” He responded giving her an awkward smile. Alya took his answer and continued looking through the menu.  Whew, crisis avoided.

Adrien pulled out his phone as Nino called over the waitress to get their orders in. He needed to send Natalie a text saying he was eating lunch out with friends. Hopefully it wasn’t too late and she wasn’t freaking out thinking she lost sight of Mr. Agreste’s son.

“How do  you know what Adrien wants?” Alya accused squinting at Marinette, then Adrien.

“Uh…. He uhm told me when we were discussing this,” Marinette improvised, eyes looking elsewhere.

“ You two organized this together?” Came Alya’s analytical voice.  Crap.

“I uh thought it would be nice to eat out for once, and asked for Marinette’s opinion,” Adrien supplied, jumping in to save Marinette from blurting anything out.

“Hmm,” Alya nodded slowly, eyes scrutinizing the two, “You’re suspicious…”

“Ahaha ha… What are you talking about?” Marinette mumbled scratching the back of her head. Alya didn’t know already, right?

Before Alya could explain herself, the waitress returned with their food. She set down the plates and left, and immediately they began to eat, stomachs grumbling. They all took big bites, savouring the food and devouring it just as quickly.

“God, this is  amazing ,” Nino exclaimed.

“It really is!” Marinette nearly shouted, cheeks stuffed with food; Adrien snickered.

“Here, you’ve got sauce on your face,” Adrien said handing Marinette a napkin.

“Oh, thanks,” she replied, swiping the napkin across her mouth.

“Hold up, what’s going on here?” Alya proclaimed putting her pizza slice down, she inspected the two carefully. She was incredibly suspicious now.

“What?” Marinette asked confused.

“What happened to my Marinette? My Marinette couldn’t even say a simple ‘hello’ to Adrien, let alone take a napkin so easily, what’s going on here?” Alya asked leaning forward.

“Now that you mention it, you’re right. Marinette would always stutter in front of Adrien, and now this happens,” Nino commented nodding his head, he also leaned in; something was up.

They weren’t going to tell Alya and Nino yet, they were going to wait until dessert, let alone find out! Marinette and Adrien shared an awkward glance, it was too soon! They gave a slight nod to each other and turned back to their awaiting friends.

“Uh… We’re dating,” Adrien announced.

“Surprise?” Marinette said raising her hands in mock celebration.

There was a solid thirty seconds of silence, Nino and Alya’s faces frozen solid, mind's processing the newly attained information. A few seconds later, their jaws dropped.

“What!? Since when?” Nino bellowed.

“About a month,” Marinette answered.

“And you dare not tell me!” Alya exclaimed betrayed.

“We just-”

“Girl, I’m so happy for you!” Alya shouted grabbing her friend by the shoulders and shaking her violently. Marinette groaned.

“Dude, are you serious?” Nino asked and Adrien nodded in affirmation, “Dude, this is huge!”

“Ha, I guess so?”

“Marinette! You’ve grown so much, I can’t believe it! You did it, girl, you did it! Oh my god!” Alya was screaming excitedly and shaking Marinette’s arm vigorously.

“I did, huh?” Marinette smiled at Adrien, he returned her smile with his own and blushed.

“I just can’t believe it!” Alya slapped Marinette’s shoulder. Adrien and Nino were taken aback by her strength, the smack resonated quite loudly. Marinette groaned trying to pry off Alya’s tight grip.

“Please are you done yet?” Marinette grumbled.

“Oh Marinette!” Alya cried out pulling Marinette into a hug awkwardly over the restaurant table, “You’ve grown so much! Before you couldn’t even say hi and now you’re dating him!”

“Apparently not,” Marinette mumbled pulling away and sitting back down. 

Adrien laughed, “She’s just happy for you.”

“A little too happy.”

“But hey, congratulations,” Nino offered ignoring Alya’s squeals of hysteria.

“Thanks,” Adrien and Marinette said at the same time. They looked at each other and shared a giggle.

“Oh, mon petit chou! I’m gonna cry, it’s like watching your child grow up!” Alya exaggerated.

“Come one, let’s just eat now, you’ve had enough,” Nino said poking her arm.

Marinette smiled, at least it went well altogether. 

“No, no, you have to tell me how it happened. Details!”

“I’m curious too, tell us,” Nino remarked eating his garlic bread. Oh shit, they hadn’t come up with a story yet. They couldn’t reveal their superhero identities!

“It kinda just happened…” Adrien grunted.

“That doesn’t work, I  need to know!” Alya chortled.

“It was awhile ago, that day we were studying for the geo test,” Marinette replied.   
  


“Seriously! I can’t believe it! It was  then ?” The two nodded and Alya nearly screamed.

Nino rolled his eyes as he continued to eat, Alya was having way too much fun. They all proceeded to eat as Alya bombarded them with questions, Nino interjecting a few curiously. They laughed and joked and teased Marinette as they finished up. It was almost time for class to start up again, they needed to head back. They paid and left tips, and were soon back on school grounds.

“I still can’t believe it,” Alya stated dreamily.

“You’ve said so many times,” Adrien laughed.

“But it’s true! This is Marinette we’re talking about!”

“Hey!” Marinette in mock offence, they all laughed, “How rude, and I thought you were my friend.”

“I am, I’m just amazed by how much things have progressed in just a month!”

“I know, I’m just joking.”

Adrien walked around to Marinette’s left side, he knew she liked being on the right, and took her hand into his. Marinette beamed brightly and laced their fingers together.

“Come on now, don’t forget about us, lovebirds,” Alya snickered turning her head around.

“Oh, hush,” Nino piped in, “It’s cute.”

Marinette’s face flushed and she grumbled under her breath plowing forward in between her two friends dragging along Adrien, who giggled quietly. Alya and Nino followed behind laughing at Marinette.

“Oh don’t be mad, we’re just teasing you,” Nino reassured as they sat down in their respective seats. Marinette fake glared at them before grinning.

Adrien glanced up at Marinette and smiled, her grin grew sheepishly and he turned around to get ready for class. Alya giggled and punched Marinette’s arm, she was too happy. As Mme. Bustier entered the classroom, Alya cleared her throat to hide her uncontrollable giggles of joy.

Marinette looked down at Adrien, everything was going to be fine now. Nino and Alya were happy for them, so now they didn’t need to hid their relationship.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> any ideas for the next chapter?? I'm open to suggestions!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe does everything under the sun and moon to pester Marinette. Marinette is slowly feeling more helpless, and Adrien starts to pick up on what’s happening, he isn’t too happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was quite the challenge to write and I loved every moment of it xD It's pretty different from the usual shitty fluff I write but whatever, I liked it

Marinette heaved a deep sigh and dumped the contents of her school bag out. A mess of soaked papers and wet writing utensils tumbled out onto the table, the most of her papers were pulled out of her folder and crumpled or soaked as well. She grabbed the tissue box and began to work on drying everything. Lately, Chloe’s harassment has gotten more aggressive. Like today, she managed to dump water into her bag. But she had gotten someone else to do it.

 

Their class took a short trip to the library and Chloe had been in there will everyone else for the entire time, but still, Marinette’s bag was dripping with water and all her papers ruined. It couldn’t have been Sabrina either, she was there the whole time as well. Which meant Chloe made someone else do it.

 

It felt like forever before she finished wiping everything off, in the end Marinette decided to throw away some hopeless pieces of papers, she would need to rewrite her notes. Slinging on her wet bag, she exited the classroom and went outside. There she say her friends, and boyfriend, sitting on the stairs waiting for her, as well Chloe, who sat beside Adrien leaning in to talk to him. Leaning in  too close for comfort. Marinette huffed, Chloe was doing it on purpose, she knew it. 

 

“Hey, sorry to make you guys wait,” Marinette greeted as she sat down beside Nino.

 

“Oh, Marinette, you’re done, what happened?” Nino asked curiously.

 

“Oh nothing really, just spilled some water in my bag,” she hissed looking at Chloe. The blonde sneered and gave a fake smile while snickering. So it was her.

 

“Geez that sucks,” Alya said.

 

“Yeah, it really does, I have to rewrite a whole bunch of stuff, nearly everything is ruined,” she grumbled resting her chin on her palm.

 

“It’s not that big of a deal anyway, it’s not like your bag was any special and I’m sure you didn’t have anything important in that thing either,” Chloe remarked staring directly at Marinette.

 

“Hey, don’t be mean, Clo,” Adrien scolded frowning at his childhood friend.

 

“Oh, but Adrien, mon cheri, it’s only the truth,” Chloe whined grabbing on his upper arm. Marinette glared harder and rolled her eyes, forcing herself to look away.

 

“Well, now that Marinette’s out, let’s head out!” Nino exclaimed standing up, Alya following swiftly. Marinette shot up immediately, she couldn’t wait to get away from Chloe. She watched as Adrien pull his arm away from Chloe’s grasp as he stood, right away Chloe’s attention moved to Marinette, she smirked confidently.

 

Marinette smiled when Adrien held onto her left hand, lacing their fingers together; she turned and gave Chloe a fake smile and turned away when she scowled back. Together the group moved out, Alya and Nino walking in front with Marinette and Adrien behind holding hands. They chatted animately and excitedly about the movie they were going to watch in less than an hour.

 

“Hey, are you okay?” Adrien asked quietly.

 

“Yeah, perfectly fine,” Marinette huffed, just thinking about Chloe was annoying her.

 

“Seriously? Nothing’s wrong?” He persisted watching Marinette with concern.

 

“Je jure, tout se passera bien, if anything’s wrong I’ll tell you, okay?” She gave his hand a tight squeeze letting go when he squeezed back. Marinette felt bad for lying to him, but she didn’t want him involved with her quarrel with Chloe, she knew they were friends. She mainly didn’t want to make him turn against Chloe just because she was dating him now.

 

Marinette nodded to herself, she was doing the right thing, she couldn’t get Adrien involved. She quickly joined into Alya and Nino’s conversation, talking about other movies. She could feel Adrien watching her, but she really didn’t want to think about Chloe anymore. All she could do was hope for the best that nothing worse happened.

 

Only, worse things did happen. The next day, a school mate walked right into her in the halls, spilling scalding hot coffee on her hand and torso.

 

Marinette yelped and pulled away shaking her hand violently to swing off the hot coffee. She heard Nino yell at the person to be careful, but they were already gone. The culprit had run away in those few seconds. Adrien pulled on her other hand and began to run towards the bathroom, Alya and Nino running following behind them. He instructed her to run her hand under cold water and pushed her and Alya into the girls’ bathroom.

 

Marinette hissed as she did what Adrien told her to do, her stung like crazy, she could feel it pulsing. The top of her hand and wrist was a bright red. Alya worked on wiping her shirt trying to remove the deep brown stain on her white shirt. She folded a wet paper towel and press it against Marinette’s skin.

 

“Cold!” Marinette shouted pushing Alya’s hand away.

 

“Just do it, you don’t want a burn on your stomach either,” Alya said pressing it on again.

 

“It’s fine, the coffee mainly got on my hand,” Marinette pointed out examining her swollen hand.

 

“Oh that looks bad already, gosh,” Alya stated frowning.

 

“Whatever, it’s fine now, let’s go,” Marinette said throwing out the wet paper towel. Now her shirt was ruined.

 

“Are you okay?” Nino and Adrien asked in unison as they exited the bathroom.

 

“I’m fine, it doesn’t hurt anyways,” Marinette lied with a smile, it hurt a lot.

 

“She lies,” Alya chimed end, turning away when Marinette shot a glare at her.

 

“Are you  sure you’re okay?” Adrien asked worriedly holding her injured hand.

 

“I’m sure I’m fine,” Marinette grumbled, they were all too worried.

 

“You should really go to the nurse’s office though,” Nino commented, “It looks pretty bad, that coffee must have been really hot.”

 

“I’ll go later if I need to, right now I’m fine.” Marinette sighed, she had such caring friends, but this was just overbearing now. Adrien rubbed his thumb over her hand, and they all dropped the topic making their way to class.

 

She gave a finally reassuring smile to him as they sat down; she turned and glared at Chloe, who was giving her a satisfied smirk..

 

“Oh, Marinette, did you get that shirt from the trash, it looks awfully dirty,” Chloe insulted, Sabrina and Kim laughed loudly.

 

“Actually, someone bumped into me just now and spilled coffee on me,” Marinette replied with a smile, a subtly fake one.

 

“Are you sure they didn’t pour it on you, they might have thought you were the garbage can,” she hissed.

 

Marinette rolled her eyes and turned away, god, she was so infuriating! 

 

“Chloe, you don’t have to be so rude!” Alya shouted standing up, Marinette quickly grabbed onto her friend's arm, she didn’t want Alya to do anything irrational.

 

“Gosh, you commoners are all the same.” Marinette could feel her blood pressure rising.

 

“Chloe, what did I say about acting superior to people, you can’t be so rude and impolite,” Adrien said facing Chloe with his arms crossed, he was mad.

 

“Mon cheri, you can’t blame me-”

 

“Yes, I can, you really need to stop acting so rude to people. Marinette got hurt from this morning and you’re saying rude things to her, don’t you care at all?”

 

“Ugh, whatever.” Chloe made a face and turned away.

 

Adrien turned towards Marinette, taking her hand he inspected it further, it was still bright red. Marinette could feel herself begin to calm down.

 

“Can you write?” He asked.

 

“I told you, minou, it’s fine,” Marinette smiled and tapped his nose lightly, he scrunched his nose lightly and nodded.

 

Things only got worse and worse. The following day, people kept bumping into her and pushing her. Whatever Chloe was doing was really starting to annoy Marinette. Everywhere she went on school grounds someone would push her and apologize before disappearing. Chloe must be paying them well, because some pushed harder than others, and the same people were coming back multiple times to bump into her.

 

The worst was when someone tried to push her down the stairs, luckily Nino had caught her, violently pulling her back by the arm so she didn’t fall. He had been extremely upset and yelled at that boy who shoved her. He was scared out of his wits, and apologized profusely before running away, terror present in his eyes.

 

“I’m fine, Nino, leave it alone,” Marinette said stopping him from pursuing the boy.

 

“It’s not fine, he did that on purpose, he can’t get away with that, you could’ve gotten seriously injured!” Nino exclaimed.

 

Suddenly, Marinette felt extremely tired, like the world was sitting on her shoulders dragging her down. She just wanted to sit, she sat down on a bench and leaned back, resting her head on the wall, she closed her eyes.

 

Marinette cursed Chloe in her head, she really hate this. She knew why Chloe was picking on her, but it was so irritating. Chloe was doing everything she could to pester her, just because she was dating Adrien, because she liked him too. Marinette was too busy murdering Chloe in her head she didn’t notice Adrien nor Alya sit down beside her.

 

“Mari, are you alright? Nino texted us what happened, we came right away,” Adrien asked, he sat sideways to face her. Marinette glanced between all her friends, they wore worried faces. She groaned loudly and rested her head on Adrien’s shoulders closing her eyes. 

 

She felt like she was going to explode.

 

“It’s so annoying,” she muttered quietly.

 

“What is?” Alya asked.

 

“Everything! She’s doing this on purpose just to set me off, and god, making people do her dirty work too! Why won’t they just leave me alone; can’t people walk properly!?”

 

“Who? Who’s doing this?” Adrien asked holding her hand, it was still slightly swollen.

 

“Ugh, no one,” Marinette hissed lifting her head. She grabbed her bag and made her way back to the classroom ignoring her friends calling after her, she only walked faster.

 

Angrily, she sat down and nearly through her bag on the ground, Tikki popped out and gave Marinette a concerned look before nuzzling her hand gently and returned to hiding. Marinette, sighed, she wished she could just hide too.

 

“Marinette! Please, tell me what’s wrong,” Adrien pleaded sitting in his spot, he held onto her hands tightly; she knew he was extremely concerned.

 

“I’ll tell you when I finished dealing with it okay?” She offered, she didn’t want him to get involved anymore than he already was. After a long minute of silence, he finally agreed and rubbed her hands tenderly.

 

“My hand is fine, you know. Ladybug can handle anything,” she joked.

 

“Ladybug needs to rely on Chat Noir more,” Adrien muttered.

 

“I promise I’ll tell you as soon as it’s over, okay? Pinky promise,” Marinette said holding out her pinky. Adrien did the same, and they curled their pinkie together before touching thumbs and releasing. She gave a smile, she could get through it and she would.

 

The next few days were calm, nothing happened, but the following week was the worst. Chloe had been shooting her smirks and grins all morning, she laughed and giggled to Sabrina, who also laughed. Adrie and Alya had noticed as well, giving Marinette confused looks, she shrugged back at them.

 

It wasn’t until after lunch she found out what happened, her locker had been filled with garbage. Actual rotting food, drinks, and disgusting trash. Not only that but her poster assignment was torn in pieces and scribbled over. 

 

Marinette was devastated, she could feel her anger being replaced with helplessness. Perhaps she couldn’t actually deal with it after all.

 

Chloe entered the locker rooms and laughed loudly while making snide remarks. As a final touch, Chloe had poured pop over her head. Marinette didn’t do anything, she couldn’t. She stood there and accepted her fate as Chloe cackled and then left. 

 

Marinette brushed her wet bangs up and sniffled trying to stop herself from crying. She felt violated, her locker filled with garbage, her assignment ruined, and now covered in pop. She bowed her head and headed towards the bathroom, she needed to wash her hair before it got sticky. Ignoring everyone’s stares and whispers, she pushed the bathroom door open and turned on the tap. She let it run for a few seconds as she looked at herself through the mirror, she looked utterly horrible. Placing her head in the sink, she pulled out her loose pigtails and scrubbed her hair angrily. She was so frustrated. A few seconds later the door opened and Alya rushed in, she massaged Marinette’s shoulders reassuringly and didn’t say anything.

 

Marinette continued to wash her hair, slowly she lifted her head not minding the water that dribbled down her face or on her shirt. Alya grabbed onto the end of her shirt and pulled it, Marinette lifted her arms letting Alya remove her shirt. Instead, she was handed a towel and shirt, they were Adrien’s.

 

Alya washed her shirt as she slipped on Adrien’s shirt and dried her hair, sniffling occasionally. She wiped her tears with the towel and watched Alya wring her shirt tightly to remove as much water as possible. Alya gave a sigh and wrapped Marinette into a tight hug. She pulled away after a moment, and they left the bathroom. Outside their bags were placed on the ground against the wall.

 

“Where’d he go? I told him to wait…” Alya muttered looking around, she picked up all three bags and turned to Marinette, “I told Nino to get a teacher and custodian to clean your locker, I heard what happened from Chloe, she wouldn’t stop  bragging , ugh.”

 

“I want to go home,” Marinette whispered, Alya nodded and kept her arm wrapped around her shoulders tightly as they walked, Alya glaring at anyone who stared too long.

 

When they reached outside, they were shocked to see Adrien and Chloe arguing, yelling back and forth quickly. Marinette stared, this is exactly what she wanted to avoid.

 

“Why are you always doing this?” Adrien asked angrily.

 

“It’s not like I’m doing anything different,” Chloe argued looking away.

 

“It  is different, you’re doing much worse things now!” He hissed clenching his fists tightly.

 

“She’s just sensitive!”

 

“Maybe she is, but that doesn’t matter, you still did horrible things!”

 

“ I didn’t do anything, other people did.” Adrien scoffed.

 

“Fine,  you didn’t do anything, but you paid other people to do bad things to Marinette. Everything that happened last week and today too, you made all of that happen.”

 

“So what, she needed to learn a lesson.”

 

“Chloe, you need to learn a lesson, you aren’t doing anything good. You can’t just bully people because you don’t like them, that’s not right!”

 

“Why do you even care so much, she’s no one special anyway,” Chloe hissed glaring at her. Marinette frowned.

 

“She’s my good friend and  my girlfriend , for God’s sake! Of course I care about her,” Adrien yelled. He was angry, furious, at Chloe for doing such things.

 

“And you don’t care about me?” Chloe asked.

 

“I do, but you’re doing something wrong, I can’t just watch and pretend nothing’s happened. Chloe, you need to stop this. Burning her hand, pushing her around, almost pushing her down the stairs, and now putting garbage in her locker, destroying her assignment and pouring pop on her head, what are you thinking?”

 

“You don’t understand!” Chloe yelled, red in the face.

 

“No, you don’t understand, Chloe. I know you did all of these and I don’t understand why, but you can’t keep doing this. Someone will seriously get injured one day because of you.”

 

“Adrien, it’s fine now, I think she understands,” Marinette said approaching them. The two turned to her, Chloe glowered and turned away. Adrien stepped forward quickly.

 

“Are you alright?” He asked.

 

“Fine now, thanks for the shirt,” she smiled holding onto his towel tightly, she just wanted to get home.

 

“Marinette, I’m going to check up on Nino, I’ll meet you at home, if not then back here. Make sure you eat a big lunch and get some rest, okay?” Alya said handing her bag over, she gave Marinette a tight hug and returned Adrien’s bag as well before running off.

 

“Let’s just go,” Adrien said pulling her along, Marinette spared one last glance at Chloe who glared at her before turning away.

 

“Why didn’t you tell me anything?” Adrien asked after a moment. Marinette dreaded this exact question, she sighed.

 

“I didn’t want to get you involved,” she answered, it was true.

 

“But  why ?” He persisted.

 

“Because, she’s your good friend, I didn’t want to make you turn on her just because you’re dating me now,” Marinette answered truthfully.

 

“What? Marinette, that doesn’t matter! Either way, Chloe did horrible things to you, did you see your hand! And you could have gotten injured if you actually fell down the stairs, and today was just too far; you should have told me!”

 

“I’m sorry,” Marinette apologized looking away, now she felt guilty.

 

“Oh Marinette, you have no idea how worried I was, I had no idea what was going on but i could tell you weren’t happy,” Adrien mumbled gripping her hand tightly.

 

“I’m sorry,” she apologized again and hugged him tightly. Adrien sighed and hugged her back, pressing a kiss on her forehead. Marinette smiled, it was nice having someone who cared so much about her aside from her parents.

 

She pulled away and they continued walking; when they reached her home, Marinette’s phone beeped with a text message, it was from Alya. Opening it up, it was a picture of Chloe cleaning out her locker, she wore a disgusted face. Marinette laughed, serves her right. She gave a quick reply and showed her phone to Adrien, who gave small laugh.

 

Opening the door to the bakery, she trudged through with Adrien following behind. Marinette just wanted to shower and sleep, and maybe cuddle too. It was a long day, she really needed to de-stress.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I realized I pretty much denied the existence of Tikki and Plagg again.... I kinda keep forgetting about them.... oops

**Author's Note:**

> [find me on Twitter and Tumblr @mzblackpoison]  
> send me requests and prompts to my ask box on tumblr


End file.
